South Germantown Cyclocross

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Crossresults

Hopped those barriers like a boss!
Lol, cx is fun :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pajamaking/9771982826/in/set-72157635559706165/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pajamaking/9771979413/in/set-72157635559706165/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pajamaking/9772075393/in/set-72157635559706165/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pajamaking/9771791471/in/set-72157635559706165/


Results : CAT 1-2-3 MEN   (Competitors : 20)
South Germantown Cyclocross - South Germantown Rec Park
RACE DATE : 9/15/2013 - Permit : 2013-3241 - Organized By : Race Works Gruppetto, LLC.

 PL   NO    CATEGORY    LICENSE  NAME              TEAM                ELAPSED
  1   18      CAT1       INTL    SCHEMPF, Weston   SEAVS/Haymarket pb V
  2   19      CAT1       INTL    NIETERS, Jared    SEAVS/Haymarket pb V00:00:00.00
  3   22      CAT1      111687   WITTWER, Greg     Pyramid Elite Racing00:00:00.00
  4    5      CAT1      217193   SITLER, Jake      SEAVS/Haymarket pb V00:00:00.00
  5    8      CAT1      280764   RUGG, Timothy     Pro Tested Gear     00:00:00.00
  6    1      CAT1      277204   BLAIR, Patrick    Adventures For the C00:00:00.00
  7    2      CAT2      133076   BAGGETT, Jonathan Saroff Racing Team  00:00:00.00
  8    6      CAT2       INTL    ROJAS, Raul       DCMTB               00:00:00.00
  9   11      CAT1      256984   DRISCOLL, Adam    Adventures For the C00:00:00.00
 10   13      CAT3      358246   BYRD, Lance       Adventures For the C00:00:00.00
 11   21      CAT2      297429   WILLIAMS, Adam    Winchester Wheelmen 00:00:00.00
 12    9      CAT2      358552   MILLER, Larry     Crosshairs/Spy/Bike 00:00:00.00
 13   12      CAT3      207821   WEBSTER, Andrew   Wooden Wheels Racing00:00:00.00
 14   20      CAT3      223221   BRADY, Mattison                       00:00:00.00
 15   14      CAT3      354108   DOVE, John        Crosshairs/Spy/Bike 00:00:00.00
 16   10      CAT2      282645   SCHIRMER, Neil    Clean Currents p/b B00:00:00.00
 17    4      CAT3      310117   MASSONNEAU, AndrewWinchester Wheelmen 00:00:00.00
 18    3      CAT1       INTL    CARWILE, Steve    REALL Racing/evanple00:00:00.00
 19   15      CAT2       INTL    BROWNE, Tanner    GS CycleLife        00:00:00.00
 DNS   7      CAT1      339512   RABADI, ChristopheDosnoventa          00:00:00.00
 DNS  17      CAT3      246931   FREY, Ethan       Joe's Bike Shop Raci00:00:00.00
 DNF  16      CAT2      204606   GRIFFIN, Eric     SEAVS/Haymarket pb V00:00:00.00

Hilly Billy Roubaix 2013

Race website
Race results 
My Strava data
My interview with DirtWire.tv
CXHairs.com video

The quick and dirty is, I went quick and got dirty and loved nearly every second of it.  Hilly Billy Roubaix and I just get along.  That's me on the busted barrel representing a 2nd place single speed finish behind Gerry Pflug (1st) and ahead of Gunnar Shogren (3rd) and Dan Rapp (4th).

Racing is awesome because of the variety of people and secondarily because of the training, equipment, terrain, epicness, etc.  I prefer to cover it all in one post, so get a bagel and some coffee and queue the flashback sound effect.

2012

It all started at Hilly Billy Roubaix 2012.  It was my first endurance bike race and I did well.  More importantly I rode most of that race with Roger Masse.  I think I read his 2011 HBR blog post 7 times before the 2012 race (I read it another 3 times before the 2013 race).  So when I found myself riding with him in 2012, me on gears, him on his single speed with 34x17 gearing, I was pretty excited.  We ended up matching up well back then and I was just amazed at how he could ride on that single gear.  I basically wanted to be like Roger.

Also, at HBR 2012 was Brian Patton.  We had met by coincidence on a pre-ride of the 2012 Sugarhill XC race.  Come to find out he lives near my In-laws and we both looooove riding in Michaux and he was on strava.  We ended up near one another in the results of HBR 2012 but never saw each other out there.  We kept up with one another throughout 2012 and 2013, intersecting at several races.

Then before Shenandoah 100 2012 my teammate and close friend Pat Blair made the switch from gears to single speed mountain biking.  I joined him, tossing the gears.  Dan Atkins kinda became my mechanic at that point as he guided me through the install of the Beer Components eccentric bottom bracket on my Cannondale Flash 29.  For the most part it works (needs re-tightening about every 100 miles) and I was glad to have made the move. 

After the pain that was SM100, Pat and Adam (Driscoll) and I attacked Iron Cross 2012.  Roger Masse and Brian Patton were also there.  And all of them beat me as I pooped out.  But!  I also rode a good bit with Dan Rapp (super nice guy) and the eventual single speed winner, Austin Horse (also super nice).  They both also beat me, but not before I found out from Austin that he was riding 42x18 on his single speed cross bike!  What!  That's huge!  I thought he would surely pop in the big mountains of Michaux.  But instead he won his division and went really fast.  During my poop out, Brian Patton rescued me for a while, allowing me to draft on him for many miles.  I never really saw Roger but he passed me when I was stuffing my face at the last aid station.

2013

After reviewing my race schedule with my wife and praying about it, I decided that I would only race once per month.  I have tons of opportunities to train/ride with friends and teammates throughout the week and its way easier on me and my family (i've got two little boys now!).  So in January I was bleh at snotcycle (expected, just happy to race), in February I won the non-elite division of Monster Cross.  In March I did well at Sugarhill XC.  In April I proved I could ride a single speed mountain bike for a really long time at Bakers Dozen (13 hours of ouch!).  In May I tested the technical skills at Maximus Michaux.  And finally June had arrived, I was very excited for HBR 2013.

Pat Blair has coached me in 2013.  I always coached myself before that.  I've seen huge gains from Joe Friel training, guided and modified by Pat to fit our lives.  One of the biggest changes has been my race prep.  I understand now that it takes weeks to prep the body for a race.  The "go hard/long when you can and go easy the week before the race" attitude of old just can't come close to producing the results that I have seen with Pat's/Joe Friel's longer-term plan.  I pretty much know how I'm going to feel in a race, that is a huge confidence builder.

My Setup

For nutrition I continue to go with Cerasport for hydration and Probar nutrition.  This is a no-brainer.  No Camelbak Rogue this time, I used Stainless Steel King Cage water bottle cages that I could bend inward to really clamp down on my water bottles.  For equipment I continue to use the Backcountry Research - Awesome Strap  to hold my spare tube, tire levers, and CO2.  It totally works (take the time to adjust it correctly) and I recommend no one uses a saddle bag ever again (man i hate saddle bags!).  If you are worried about your stuff coming loose and falling all over the place, well stop worrying.  Get the right awesome strap for the location that you want (stem, seat post, seat rails, etc.) and go Awesome.  Also, watch this video because its fun Awesome Strap baseball bat test.

I continue to ride tubeless.  This was the first race that I used my custom built Danny Atkins carbon wheels.  They are wide/strong but light.  So far, they have been great.  My bike is a Danny Atkins custom carbon single speed rigid mountain bike.  It weighs 17.1 pounds, mwahahahah!

For tires I chose to NOT use the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial, Double Defense, 700x35 at 570 grams.  They just seem to be life sucking in races.  I went with Michelin WildRacer Ultimate 2.0 tires.  At 460 grams they are super light for an MTB tire.  I was concerned about their flat resistance but I give them an A+ now.  27 and 29 psi seemed to work great.

Gearing.... what gear! what gear should I use!?  somebody help me, the hills are steep!  the roads are fast!  what gear!  So the general rule is 2:1 ratio for ultracross (aka 2.0).  So 32x16 or 34x17 or 38x19 or 42x21 are good starting points.  Hilly Billy throws crazy grades, sometimes well over 15% at you but also has a lot of faster road sections.  So you basically want the tallest gear ratio possible to survive the hills efficiently, allowing you to also paceline with geared riders out on the roads (huge savings!).

I played around with gearing for over a month prior to the race.  But I needed a test.  We have a hill in my riding world known as Ilchester.  It is a cat 4 road climb with 18% grades.  I decided to climb just the steepest parts of it for 2 hours (just straight up and straight down).  I figured this would get me over 5k feet of climbing and therefore was a great test for the nearly 7k feet of climbing at HBR.  I went as tall as I could imagine I could handle, 38x17.  It was a total success, with me completing 18 ilchester climbs in 2 hours.  See strava output here.  Similar to 38x17 is 32x14 (ok the latter is a bit taller). Since the parts i had were better suited for a 32t chainring I went with 32x14.  I planned to get off the bike and run any grade over 20%.

Race Day

The worst way to start a race day is to find out you forgot your helmet (like I did at Maximus Michaux), so I wore my full gear into the car.

Once we got driving the navigator let us know that we would be getting to the race very close to "go" time.  So in a pinch I got Adam to start applying my sunscreen for me, lol!  Thanks to Matt Cooper for documenting all of this embarrassment!

We ended up getting to the race by 9:30, got our registrations in order and got to the line by 9:45.  That's important because last year I had a terrible starting spot and it cost me.

At the line, there is Garth Prosser (last year's winner).  Gerry Pflug and Gunnar Shogren are comparing single speed gears (Gerry 42x20, Gunnar 42x19).  Ok my gearing is taller at 32x14 this is going to be interesting.  Alpha males Justin Lindine and Mike Simonson are here.  I'm surprised to see them on CX bikes.  Don't they know that the top 3 from last year were on mountain bikes?

My plan was simple.  Follow Gerry through the first set of hills.  If things are pretty tame, then I make the lead group.  Otherwise if I'm near max heart rate, then back off and join the chase group.  We have a neutral start for a mile or so then we're off.  I'm in good position and there's Gerry.  Legs feel fine.  I'm semi-comfortable.  we approach a very steep grade (probably 20%).  Can't run this early into things.  Gerry swings wide off the gravel road into the grass.  I follow.  The traction is better here.  But wow he is throwing down and we crest the hill with a small gap on most of the leaders.  My teammate Adam and Gerry and I are all together.  I'm definitely redlining.

This is a make or break moment, and we're only a few miles in.  If I keep this up i'm likely going to pop and have a terrible day.  But if I can hang in there and make the lead group, its high-risk high-reward.  I decide that with Lindine and Simonson and Prosser behind me that I'm going too big for my briches.  And I let go.  The leaders rush by a few second later and my body is finally getting a chance to send the signals that my HR was already telling me, "YOU NEED TO SETTLE DOWN".

Fortunately I was 98% prepared for this outcome.  So I didn't panic.  After all, this was the plan.  But what I didn't plan for was the sinking feeling I got.  I've trained hard this year and these guys are just so much faster.  Bleh.  I suck.  Waaaaah.  But then the chase group comes, and per my plan I settle in with Jim Mayuric, Brian Patton, and my teammate Andrew Dunlap.  My damaged pride disappears once I realize that I can ride comfortably with these guys.  The only question is, how much did that little experiment with the leaders cost me?

The unique ultra-pot-holed section was muddy/slick this year and there was all kinds of desperation maneuvers needed but I got through it pretty cleanly.  I'm definitely happy to be on a mountain bike.

Out on the roads I can see the lead group a minute ahead, and a littering of wannabe's like myself in their wake.  As a single speeder I never go it alone on the roads unless there is no one in sight.  It take a ton of work to produce the speed of the geared guys so I just pedal along comfortably until a group forms.

Inevitably some people in our chase group throw down some early race heroics to try to break from the group.  Thats insanity this early.  HBR is a group ride for the first 55 miles.  You make the fastest group that you can and you don't go it alone.  Solo riding any time before 55 miles takes something special that should have seen you into the faster group up ahead.  So you probably don't have it.

I stick with Brian.  We had talked about me drafting on him on facebook before the race.  I knew he would be one of the chase group leaders and he knew I'd be ecstatic to be in the chase group on my single speed.  Unfortunately I'm not much help to him besides good company.  But he's got that selfless "let's ride" personality and probably really is just happy that we can go together.

Some where in the early steep climbing we catch site of Gunnar Shogren.  Oh boy!  This is gonna make my day.  Gunnar was last year's single speed winner.  He's got wicked descending skills on his modified cross bike.  When I say modified I mean he's got a cross frame, with front disc brake, mountain bike wheels and hybrid 700x38 tires.  Its like he refuses to ride a mountain bike so instead he built the closest thing to it.  If he joins my group then I'll learn a ton and possibly find a way to beat him.  We end up together but then after a wicked descent and some fast roads he catches the wheel of a geared guy and works harder than I'm willing to.  I let him go and rejoin Jimmy and Brian, but I'm fairly confident I'll see Gunnar again soon.

At about mile 12 there is a long gravel climb.  It was here last year that I hooked up with Dan Atkins and Roger Masse.  Dan refused to race again this year, he doesn't really "do" ultracross.  Roger is out with Lyme disease.  Roger is my hero.  So in a way I'm riding for him.  Cause he'd be here if he could.  This year its Gunnar that I'm catching up to and joining.  I know what this means, we are very close in ability and now strategy becomes very important.

So its Gunnar drilling descents, telling jokes, and essentially tour guiding for the group since he knows the course inside and out.  Jimmy is the horse of the group.  He has gears, he's on a mountain bike, and he banters with Gunnar every couple of miles or so about West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Brian Patton doesn't say much so I do enough talking for the both of us.  "I'm still here General (Brian).  Gunnar, didn't you used to be a pro cyclist?  Woah!  Look at that view!"  I'm probably a little annoying but I'm having so much fun riding with these guys.  Brian is helping Jimmy with the geared road pulls.  Unfortunately he's on a traditional cross bike so he falls back on the descents and has to solo a bit to catch our group every time.

We discuss aid station 1 near mile 20.  Brian and I had already talked about it earlier in the week, we're not stopping.  Gunnar is too.  Jimmy needs to stop.  But some how Jimmy catches us quickly afterward and attacks!  We all respond but there's no doubt Jimmy isn't the biggest fan of our group drafting on him.  After another 10 miles he attacks again and we cover it gradually.  He lets us all know that if we can cover his attack then we can take pulls.  I try to explain that I'm on a single speed so althoguh I can keep up in the draft, as soon as I'm out of the draft I'll have to slow way down.  But I'm happy to pull on any gradual up hill section.  Gunnar just rips Jimmy for getting upset and I feel like the little brother who is happy to have a kickass big brother to defend him.  But Jimmy is right, we are REALLY taking advantage of him.

By aid 2 (mile 38) we've got the rotation figured out.  Basically Gunnar and I don't help on the faster roads unless it goes gradually uphill.  At which point I pull, then Gunnar (to his credit) also pulls.  I give Gunnar a lot of respect.  The race is between Gunnar and I, Jimmy is on gears, and if he doesn't pull after I pull then he's gaining an advantage.  But he almost always pulls when I do.

Now, strategy time.  I carried all my food with me.  No drop bags.  I had two water bottles.  What I would do as I approached a water station;  I'd unscrew the tops of my water bottles slightly, I'd surge ahead of the group to be the first into the station, I would yell "NO DROP BAG!  JUST WATER AND GATORADE", then two people would be standing there holding the liquids, I would hand each of them a bottle, thank them and tell them "You guys are the best!"  They fill the bottle almost instantly and I roll out.  I was always the first into the station of my group and I was always the fastest served, and always the first to leave.  This presents me with lots of possible opportunities.  1, it immediatly puts pressure on Gunnar to have to get through the station quickly.  2, I might catch onto a geared guy slightly in front of us, getting a gap.  3, If Jimmy beats Gunnar out of there, we might leave him behind.  4, I just take my time until Jimmy, Brian, and Gunnar catch up and we continue on together.

Number 4 occurred at aid station 2 and we ended up together.  Although we might have lost Brian Patton here or a little further on.  Gunnar nails the descents again.  Jimmy rides the roads steady.  And I don't feel much pressure since I'm stocked on food, liquids, and I'm feeling good.  Every hill is hard but thats because every hill is hard :)

After aid station 2 we start catching stragglers.  Those that made the lead group or decided to go it solo between our group and the lead group.  These riders generally aren't too helpful.  They usually would grab onto the group as long as possible but fall off on the next serious climb.

At mile 55 we catch some one I know.  Its Dave Weaver.  I can see he has goose bumps.  He can't last long with our still charging group.  He bobbles a turn and goes down after riding with us for a bit.  This is the uglier part of the race now.  Bodies are suffering.  For me it is presenting more opportunities because I still feel good.  But Jimmy and Gunnar haven't shown many signs of fading.  And despite my good energy levels, the climbs are taking a toll on me in the form of tiny little "warning" cramps.  They aren't stopping me yet but its a fine line before these turn into full blown cramping.

Approaching aid station 3 we hit a climb that is really a series of climbs.  Some parts are very steep. Without any special moves, a gap forms between me and Jimmy, and Jimmy and Gunnar.  What should I do?  This is a decent time to go it alone, most of the course is just hills, there isn't a ton of paceline road left.  But Jimmy only has a small gap on Gunnar, if they work together they could bring me back on a road section and I will have wasted some energy and further agitated my tiny cramps.

I decide with aid station 3 close I should just go!  Perhaps I can find some friends to stay away with.  I prepare only one bottle for the station since we are only 13 miles from the finish now.  I'm in and out of the station before Gunnar and Jimmy even arrive.  Up ahead I see a geared rider and I make a strong move through the rolling backcountry roads to bridge to him.

As I approach him, my slightly slow brain had a thought, "That's a CF guy.  Gerry is a CF guy.  Are you about to catch Gerry?".  I focused my eyes more clearly on the rider in disbelief.  It wasn't Gerry.   I know him, its Jesse Kelly, a guy who finished top 10 last year.  I remember seeing pictures of him finishing last years race.  He's a horse of a man, a thick and strong rider.

Jesse and I get to talking.  He thinks we're in 7th!  He's suffering with some borderline cramping on the hills.  He had never made the lead group so he's been out here alone for a while.  I get straight to the point.  "Gunnar is back there with a geared rider, Jimmy.  I just dropped them.  I could really use your help.  You draft on me everywhere except the fast roads and we'll work together to stay away."

Jesse is unsure he can help.  But I back off a little and he presses a little and we kinda stay together.  But on a steeper section I lose him.  Out on the road he comes back to me as I spin out.  We chat some more and I offer him some hammer gel.  I have plenty and would be happy to shed the weight, power him up a little, and for us to work together.  He downs it and we continue.

Again on a steep climb we separate and this time I decide to press forward.  I can see another rider up ahead.  It doesn't take me long to recognize this frame.  Its Todd Latocha, last year's 3rd overall rider.  He's super skinny, and easy to recognize.  I pump him up by letting him know that Jesse isn't far behind.  He presses a road section and we're moving pretty well.

But up ahead is a wicked big road hill.  I had to run this hill last year because my gears were broken.  Even while running last year I caught a suffering Rob Spreng.  This year Todd throws himself into the hill but has little left to give and I move away from him as I torque it.  Lets see, first Dave Weaver, then Jesse Kelly, now Todd Latocha, what other stud might I catch out here?  Am I really in 6th place now!?

On the road descent I'm getting as aero as possible.  This section isn't helping me catch anyone.  And amazingly Jesse Kelly is back and has caught me.  We only have 2 or so miles left, he wants to stay away from Todd and I want to draft a geared guy so I catch on to him and we fly through the rollers.  Although we are in different divisions, both of us would like to beat the other for the overall.  On the long road climb approaching the park entrance I lose Jesse and know that if I don't cramp that I'm good for 6th.  I see 5th way in the distance and know my position is set.

The final grass section that they added this year (I estimate it added 3 minutes to the finishing times) was a pretty wicked addition.  From the point of view of making the race epic, it was a fantastic addition.  From the point of view of a rider that is 1 mile from the finish, it is just mean.  I navigate it well on my mountain bike and continue to feel sorry for those on cross bikes.

Then the final super steep road hill with the sun just cooking me and I'm home!  6th place overall and 2nd in the single speed division, a break-through race!  I am super stoked!

Immediately I find Adam and he says he got 2nd!  That's awesome!  Beer, Pizza, Water, Bacon, sitting around and listening to the top 10 riders' war stories.  This is grand.  DirtWire interview, podium, Coop arrives alive but thoroughly crushed after many mechanicals and stomach fits.

All that training and prep came together nicely today.  I DID IT!  We sat for a little, took in God's beautiful scenery and headed home :)

The video glasses have died.  Here are the final blurry vids before a new pair steps up:

riding with Jesse Kelly to the finish:

finish:

Maximus Michaux 2013

Race website
Race results 
My Strava data

Ever since the beat-down I suffered last year (2012) at the Maximus Michaux 20 miler and Shenandoah 100 I made it my goal in 2013 to improve my mountain bike skills and endurance.  I love tough/epic courses even though they aren't my strength.

Over the last two weeks everything in life aligned very well for me to make a great run at the Maximus 40 miler.  There wasn't another race I wanted more than this one.  My mountain bike skills are the best they've been.  My fitness is the best its been.  I was loaded up on sleep.  And I feel full of the life that comes with peaking.

My Setup:
For nutrition I continue to go with Cerasport for hydration and Probar nutrition.  I carry my spare tube, levers, and pump with my Backcountry Research - Awesome Strap.  It totally works (take the time to adjust it correctly) and I recommend no one uses a saddle bag ever again (man i hate saddle bags!).  If you are worried about your stuff coming loose and falling all over the place, well stop worrying.  Get the right awesome strap for the location that you want (stem, seat post, seat rails, etc.) and go Awesome.  Also, watch this video because its fun Awesome Strap baseball bat test.  Every time I've crashed, the worst thing that happens is that my stuff has rotated some on my seatpost.  I nudge it back to the ideal location and am back on it!

I continue to ride tubeless on my Stans ZTR Crest wheels.  These wheels have been fantastic but I wish I had gone with a Crest front wheel and a stronger Arch rear wheel for Maximus.  More on that later.

For tires I chose Maxxis Ikon 2.20, with EXO sidewall protection at 590 grams.  I trained on these tries all winter and spring.  They survived 13 hours of Bakers Dozen.  And it kinda feels like cheating since they are so light, but resilient.  I was nervous about them at Maximus since it is the rockiest, most flat prone course on the planet!  So I reduced my risk a bit and added 3 psi above my normal levels.  That put my front tire at 24 psi and my back at 26 psi.  Ya its high, but I really didn't want to flat.  My teammate Patrick Blair rode his normal pressure with Ikons and he had no issues and won the SS, placing 4th overall on time!

The weather:
Everything was perfect all week.  Race morning was chilly in the high 40's but ended up feeling perfect during the race.  The course was in perfect condition.

Prerace:
I slept perfectly the night before.  It seemed that nothing was going to stop me today.  Then as Pat and I rode to the course I realized I forgot my helmet.  CRAP!!!  As soon as we get to the race site Pat recognizes people, asks for a helmet and I get to borrow this super light and awesome Specialized Prevail.  The guy said apologetically "Its a small".  I have a tiny head (see podium picture), jackpot.

The Race:
Brian Patton, Pat and I move to the start.  They send the "Senior" geared guys off first and then thankfully call the single speeders up next.  This gives us a chance to go after many of the faster geared guys and means the first climb won't be too cluttered.
We're off!  Immediately a guy in mtb shorts and a loose shirt drills it.  I figure he's some young kid that wants to be first into the single track.  Good thing my legs are feeling amazing cause He, Pat, a guy with crazy amounts of hair, and I are flying up the mountain road.  I can tell we are pushing it but my legs are saying "no problemo".  My confidence is building.

We turn towards the single track.  Last year taught me that this section is super important for making the selection.  Its not very steep but goes on forever and is technical.  I give the three studs in front of me some room and watch things unfold.  They are all over the trail, running sections where they took a bad line.  I don't put my foot down once and I feel like I'm riding completely within myself.  Confidence at near max!  Except it's still just 25 minutes into a 4 hour race ;)

At the first road section, Pat latches onto a Vet geared rider who has now caught us.  He's flying and obviously out of my league.  So I let them go.  The loosely clothed SS'r and the ultra hairy SS'r semi-press after them but I'm pretty sure they aren't getting away so I stay on my pace (ah the advantage of confidence).

We travel through some winding technical trails.  Again I'm doing very well and can see the motley two not far ahead.  My handlebars are being squeezed at several tight tree-lined turns and I remember that I really want to trim some length off of them.

Out on a fire-road I close down on the two and see that Pat is away.  I know what is coming next and I figure this might be the last time I see these guys.  We are about to climb dead woman hollow, a pretty steep and long cat 3 gravely, non-technical climb.  These kinda climbs are my strength.  Even longer would be better :)

The loosely clothed guy drops back a little just before the climb.  He is actually a very good rider.  I think he is Montana Miller.  But at the time, I didn't know that.  The very hairy rider is "Topher".  He's also a very good rider, but I didn't know that at the time either ;)  I pass Topher at the base of the climb and we look at each other.  He says something like "good stuff!".  I say "All aboard the pain train!" and drill away from him.  I look up the mountain and see Pat about 40 seconds ahead.  We are both catching the spread out geared riders that started ahead of us.  But he's climbing faster and I don't even consider trying to catch him.  I know that I'm going plenty fast and Strava confirmed that later, listing me as the KOM until super stud Brandon Draugelis uploaded.  Pat's garmin didn't list him for the segment otherwise he might have been the KOM.

By the top I've left Topher and Montana Miller far behind.  I thought I was a lock for 2nd by this point since I still felt great.  I just need to ride smart and hope that my bike holds up.  Maximus and Montana and Topher still had plenty of tricks up their sleeves though.  And we are only 1 hour into a 4 hour race.

I descended 3 mile trail, a super rocky (boldery!) downhill that just twists and turns and dives and rises for a long, long time.  I still felt my skills were shinning but went down a few times with silly mistakes.  At one point I hear a guy up ahead shout.  I come around the turn and face some crazy technical stuff and go down.  So I shout.  Next time I'll heed the shouts of those who go before me.  This thing is going on forever!  and finally I'm out of that trail.

Something changed during that descent.  My body feels heavy and I'm not cranking the pedals as effortlessly.  Interesting.  A descent has battered me this early?  I shouldn't be so surprised since the hardest part of SM100, for me, was the final huge descent.  But I'm surprised.  I tell myself to relax and that the body will come back quickly.

In hindsight, the day after the race I realized that my rear wheel was not spinning well.  Did I bust it on this section during one of my crashes?  Maybe it was later on that I busted it.  I'll never know if I was just tired from the big climb followed by a very taxing descent or if I was also fighting a bad wheel.  But in the future I need to take a second and check my bike after I go down.  I had thought that I had damaged my Crest rear wheel when I first blogged.  But on further review the wheel had just shifted a little (despite the skewer being tight).  So just a little skewer/wheel adjustment has fixed the spinning issues.  I asked Danny Atkins (guru) about skewers and he recommends Shimano XT.  He says he's tried tons of skewers and beside the ultra-expensive DT Swiss ratcheting skewers, Shimano are the best.  Noted.

After some mountain road riding, the 40 miler and 20 miler split directions.  I am entering new unknown territory.  The trail started to get very raw, rocky, woody.  The size of the rocks grew.  I'm riding up rocks now, not over them.  On a steep switchback I catch site of Topher and Montana Miller, they're closing on me quickly in this super technical stuff.  When they catch me I try to hold wheels but they are riding stuff that I'm running.  I didn't really panic.  In fact I got pretty excited.  "This is going to be a battle!" I thought, amazed that after 1.5 hours of racing the three of us are all together.

Unfortunately this rugged stuff didn't end after 3 miles, or 5 or 7.  It just kept going.  I suppose if those guys hadn't dropped me I'd be blogging how raw and awesome this was.  But its costing me second place and I'm losing hope that the type of riding will change so that I can close the gap.  In fact, I'm getting so tired from bumping into rocks and trying to stay upright that I'm not sure that I can match those guys anymore.

The miles pass and I ride with various people but in general I'm descending more slowly than the people around me.  I really understand the advantage of dual suspension now.  In fact, I was wishing I had a little less pressure in my front shock and tires.  These are lessons that Michaux shouts at you loud and clear.  I'm learning a ton and actually still having fun.

With 12 miles to go Cheryl "Churtle" Sorenson rips past me on a crazy descent.  She started over a minute behind me, and I'm impressed.  I can't hold onto her either but then catch her at the aid station.  The trails are a little less mean and I feel pretty comfortable riding behind her.  She's really really good at this ;)

We get mixed in with some geared riders.  I leave them on the climbs.  They leave me in the rocks.  And I'm getting tired.  I can tell we're getting near the finish because no one is giving an inch.  I go down and loose them and again the fatigue is stomping down on me.  On a descent I see Montana Miller on the side of the trail, frustrated over a mechanical.  I've moved back into 3rd among single speeders but feel sad for him.  He was awesome out there.

I start to recognize trails from the finish of the 20 miler and know that I'm also almost done.  There isn't anyone to race anymore and I just dig deep up the final long climb.

At the finish I'm super happy.  Despite the struggles, this is Michaux and I've achieved what I had trained to do.  I rode well enough to race with some great Michaux riders.  I just couldn't seal the deal.  But man, I finished 3rd in the SS division and was really proud.  I've come a long way since the Maximus Michaux 2012 20 miler where I finished 5th in the geared division.

I'll post pics of my setup soon.

Tire talk with Dan Atkins

Dan Atkins (Race Pace cycling) gives good advice on tires.  How do I know?  I wouldn't have won the Monster Cross non-elite race on Sunday if I didn't push back my fears and take his advice.

I had questions, he had answers and I'm sharing:

me:  atkins.
me:  tread vs. volume.  lets say a 2.1 with more aggressive tread vs. a 2.2 with faster rolling tread.  bascially the same weight.

go.

Dan:  that's up to you

i like low tread tires usually

me:  are they equally grippy.  or does more tread mean more grip. or more volume mean more grip?

Dan:  they're not equally grippy

lower tread height tires typically have less grip

but that doesn't really mean its a worse tire

i like low tread tires on the rear because it helps me move the bike around with the brake a lot easier

me:  agreed.

alright

how about puncture resistance

any difference?

Dan:  not really

me:  ok, what is an advantage of volume?

me:  more valume that is.

and what is the advantage of less volume

Dan:  lower pressure, better traction for higher volume tires

generally

less volume is lighter and potentially faster

its hard to generalize

you really need to compare one tire to the next

me:  u ever go high pressure for something like cohutta 100 miler

like so much road

seems like u want like 45 psi

Dan:  no

never

me:  hah, ok

Dan:  it might make sense reading race reports and descriptions of the course

but in reality it's a terrible idea

me:  good to know

Dan:  just run whatever your regular tire pressure is

you will be MUCH more comfortable

i made that mistake the first time i did a 100

at wilderness

i rode like 45 PSI because i heard that there was so much stuff other than singletrack

and it was awful

me:  lol, ok i was def heading towards that mistake for wildcat 100

Dan:  don't do it!

me:  i rode 40 psi last night just to see.  seemed alright.  but only rode one trail in ccbc (over by my house) so tough to tell.  this helps

Dan:  you will regret it for sure

after 8 hours your back will be dead

me:  excellent info thx!  ok to post this to my blog "tire talk with dan atkins"?

Dan:  for sure

me:  jackpot

 

Monster Cross 2013, Race!

Race website
Race results 
My Strava data 

According to the "confirmed riders" list leading up to race day, Monster Cross 2013 looked like the unofficial February Mid-Atlantic off-road championship, with big names and a huge field (573 riders).  Normally at an ultracross race I would enter the "open under 40" field, but Monster cross had a unique set of divisions.  There was the Pro/Elite division that was choc-full of Cat 1 roadies and cyclocrossers, as well as pro mountain bikers who all crush me at their leisure.  I felt that field was too big for my britches.  So I signed up for a "non-elite" division, the cyclocross under 40.  Top 3 in this division get winners jerseys so that was a sweet prize to race for.  I felt if I raced very well I had a chance for 3rd-ish in that division.

My Setup:
For nutrition I continue to go with Cerasport for hydration and Probar nutrition.  This is a no-brainer.  No Camelbak Rogue this time, since the race is only about 3 hours.
For equipment I continue to use the Backcountry Research - Awesome Strap  to hold my spare tube, tire levers, and hand-pump.  It totally works (take the time to adjust it correctly) and I recommend no one uses a saddle bag ever again (man i hate saddle bags!).  If you are worried about your stuff coming loose and falling all over the place, well stop worrying.  Get the right awesome strap for the location that you want (stem, seat post, seat rails, etc.) and go Awesome.  Also, watch this video because its fun Awesome Strap baseball bat test.

I continue to ride tubeless on my Stans Alpha 340 Comp wheels.

For tires I chose to NOT use the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial, Double Defense, 700x35 at 570 grams.  This course is one of the tamer ultracross courses with pretty fast avg speeds over 17mph.  Not to mention I had previously promised myself that I take Danny Atkins advice (he's right a lot).  I put on the Vittoria EVO XG cx 700x32 tubeless.  They are so easy to air up tubeless on the Stans wheels.  I took'm for a spin on my local cx course a few days earlier.  It was a rough and bumpy ride since the ground was all frozen and I am used to my comfy mtb.  I started to waffle towards the mondials again but then i saw this video which shows a lot of the course in speedy time:

Vittoria tires it is.  Thanks to Danny Atkins and articles like this article that helped me to step away from my fear of flatting, to go to a lighter tire for this years' ultracross experiences.

I am still using TRP CX8.4 linear pull brakes because cantilevers are rubbish and i can't afford to upgrade my cx bike to have disc brakes.  I still want a Cannondale SuperX with disc brakes ;)

The weather:
It was in the 30s in the morning but climbed to the low 50s.  The ground was wet but still fast after hard rain the day before.  The skies were clear (beautiful!).

The Race:
The pro/elite group went off a few minutes before us.  I was glad of that because I wanted to try to go with the lead group of non-elites.  But if they had all been mixed together it would have been chaos in the non-elite standings.  Pat was in the elite race.  Sug was on his single speed cx bike in the non-elite race with me.  I didn't have high expectations going in to this race so I was calm as a cucumber.  I chatted with my ultracross buddy Brian Patton at the start.  It was a good atomosphere.  We had a neutral start for a while and the crowds were thick.  The initial pace wasn't anything crazy.  It felt a lot like a group training ride. The double track was fast and gravely.  There were muddy spots here and there.  The lead group (pace-line) was huge!  Turns felt dicey with people all around, coming forward and moving back.  I was doing everything I could to stay calm.


The race is two 24 mile loops.  Winning times in 2012 had been around 2:47 so I expected this group would go 3 hours.  At an hour of racing I looked around and there were just tons of people in the pace-line.  The pace was fast enough that no one wanted to attack away from the group and tame enough with only a few steep hills that no big separations could occur.  In a way it felt like a dream because I am used to just burying myself early trying to stay with crazy fast guys.  But now I was around peers and was racing well within myself.  Its like all those races you read about, with tactics and strategy.  It felt really good.  I was having to exercise patience in a lead pack for the first time.

As we came through the start/finish around 1:20 I continued to feel great.  I hadn't spent much time at the front and started to wonder if people were hurting or hiding.  I took to the front, working with a rider from the Winchester Wheelmen.  The pack was still in tact.  So I made a small move on my next turn up front.  A gap formed.

pic

I wasn't really sure what to do.  Its still early, but that gap formed fairly easily.  I decided to go with it for a bit.  I didn't really step on the gas but just kept the pressure on.  I caught up to a pro/elite rider Zach Morrey.  He is a super good NUE mountain biker that is coming off a double collar bone break.  We chatted some and worked together.  I enjoyed not having the pack around me on the descents and turns.  But after a while the pack caught me.  And I tucked back in.

That effort might have lasted 10 minutes.  I'm not sure.  But it moved me from comfortable, to engaged. And now the pack is starting to turn up the pace.  I went from engaged to pushing in a short time.  In retrospect it was a tactical mistake to have gone it alone for a while.  Go or stay, but don't hang out.  I drank and ate and tried to prepare for some tough racing in the last 20 miles.  The smooth rolling double track was drying some and becoming thicker/slower.  The screw was tightening and I started wishing I never made that move.

With maybe 15 miles to go or maybe 10, the real attack comes.  It kinda happened, nothing immediately noticeable, but I was gapped.  I was feeling tight, a little out of energy.  Thoughts of "u blew it!" started creeping in.  Sug came by me and said "let's go!  get on my wheel!".  I decided that I would bury myself to stay with him in hopes that we could bridge.  He stood up out of each turn. I thought "I haven't really been standing" so I stood out of the turns.  The legs started to sizzle but it felt right.

The gap was holding to the 5 or so leaders.  They had maybe 10 or 15 seconds on us.  It seemed that we had been beat.  But Sug kept drilling.  And once he let up I moved to the front and drilled.  I got down in the drops and put my head down on the straights and just let it rip.  The legs kept giving so I kept asking.  A minute or so went by and I had done it!  I was back with the leaders (so I thought).

We hit the last big climb with about 5 miles to go.  I threw down all the way to the top.  The five of us crested together but it seemed that only 4 of us had anything left.  The road section was fast and I tucked in.  Small attacks kept coming and all I could think is how am I going to win this?  Where should I attack?  How close are we to the finish?

We entered a trail section that had people cheering and some one said "make your move now!" so I thought it was now or the final sprint.  I made some nice descending moves to get on the wheel of the leader.  We entered the park proper.  I tried to shift to the big ring but the mud had taken its toll and the small ring was all i had.  We sprinted through the muddy grass to the line!  I couldn't get around the leader.  I congratulated him on the win and he said "no i was in the pro/elite race."  Wow!  I think I won!

pic

I was super proud to have bridged to the group (thanks to Sug!).  And was stunned to have finished ahead of all the non-elites.  Unfortunately, the results show an over 40 cyclocrosser that has a faster time then mine.

Photo evidence has surfaced that #27 was not in my race, he started with the elites (he's towards the right in orange and light blue ;)
evidence (lol)

I won the under 40 cyclocross division and got a sweet jersey :)  Happy days!

(left to right) me, pat blair, and adam (sug) driscoll.

Don't play with floods

This morning started great, rise with the family, horse around.  Get on the bike to go to work.
Well it rained a lot last night.  I admired the raging Potapsco as I crossed the bridge from BaltCo. to HoCo (avalon).
River road had some shallow standing water.   I started pedaling through it and it got deeper and deeper.
By the time I realized that I was in a flood it was too late to turn around (will never mess wtih standing water again).
The water rose and rose until my entire bike frame became submerged.  I'm freaking out obviously.
Some how I stayed upright and made it to the other side... scary (i might have got it on video and will upload tonight).
My feet experienced an epic level of cold during the rest of the super windy 40 degree commute.
Fortunately I had overdressed so the rest of me was hot.

I was really looking forward to my shower at work, I crack my bag open and there is just work shoes, no clothes.
Ugh!
I guess I'm going to have to wear my flooded rain pants and my skinsuit to work today.
Then I checked Pat's unlocked locker, he has a pair of wrinkled jeans in there that seem to be 34w and 30L.  I was thankful for them.
Took a shower (no towel).
Got dressed in jeans and a skinsuit.  Got up to work and put on my sweater.

Happy to be safe and basically dressed.
Strava output

Iron Cross 2012, Race!

Race website
Race results (in ew! format, lol) 
My Strava data
CyclingDirt.org Video 

Iron Cross 2012 has been my Fall target race since doing Hilly Billy Roubaix 2012.  Hilly Billy showed me that I really enjoy ultracross because it plays to my adventurous side, and tests the limits.
Iron Cross 2012 was the final race of the American Ultracross Championship Series and is the queen stage (if u will) of the series.  That means deeper fields and hotter paces.

My Setup:
For nutrition I continue to go with Cerasport for hydration and Probar nutrition.  This is a no-brainer.  I also carry water and tools in my Camelbak Rogue.
For equipment I tried the Backcountry Research - Awesome Strap  for the first time.  It totally works (take the time to adjust it correctly) and I recommend no one uses a saddle bag ever again (man i hate saddle bags!).  If you are worried about your stuff coming loose and falling all over the place, well stop worrying.  Get the right awesome strap for the location that you want (stem, seat post, seat rails, etc.) and go Awesome.  Also, watch this video because its fun Awesome Strap baseball bat test.

I continue to ride tubeless on my Stans Alpha 340 Comp wheels.

For tires I chose Schwalbe Marathon Mondial, Double Defense, 700x35 at 570 grams, because I would rather take a weight penalty and have the extra flat protection.  The width is perfect for ultracross.  And the tread is great in dry conditions, gravel, and is even decent in wet conditions.  I would call it a winner if you're looking for some lower-risk ultracross racing.  But if you are willing to risk flatting for the chance to go a few minutes faster, then go with something lighter but with the same volume like the Stans Raven 700x35 at 360 grams.  I found this article enticing me to go to a lighter tire for my next ultracross experience (maybe all of 2013 to give them a fair shot).
In review:
1) they will last thousands of miles.
2) they are lighter (570 grams) than the bomb-proof continental cx plus (800 grams)
3) they are very flat resistant (gotta be the "Double Defense" version)
4) they seem to air up tubeless pretty easily on my Stans wheels.
5) the tread is very good on road, gravel, dry trails, and even decent on wet trails.

I am still using TRP CX8.4 linear pull brakes because cantilevers are rubbish and i can't afford to upgrade my cx bike to have disc brakes.  But I talked to someone with a Cannondale SuperX and I wanted it ;)

The weather:
Man, all week the weather reports worsened.  20% chance of rain and 53, then 40% chance of rain and 50, by Friday it was 80% chance of rain and 45.  The race directors sent out a doom-gloom/hypothermia email that was begging racers to be ready and encouraged them to even carry a Mylar blanket in case of an emergency.  Wowzer.  I was nervous.  I don't do well in cold/wet conditions.  Just like my tire selection, I decided I would rather play things safe, and take a speed penalty to be ready.  I wore an O2 Cycling Rain Jacket under my jersey.  Which worked pretty well despite NO RAIN!  Lol, I could feel the wind tugging on me a little so I focused on drafting during descents as often as possible.

The Race:
I lined-up front.  I wanted to try to go with the lead group.  Pat and Sug were up there, so why not?  It was pretty cold at the start and i was a little shaky.  Some of those shakes were nerves/excitement.  Garth Prosser(?), Gerry Pflug, are all up here.  That's cool ;)
The initial pace went out pretty hot.  It felt a lot like a 1 hour cyclocross race except a little less sprinty.  The first four-ish miles are on bike paths between 2 parks and so its gravel, a little sand, and some road.  A bit sketchy and I liked it a lot.  I could feel that I was a little above my limit but was happy to be following Gerry's wheel (see video)   

Early lead group:

As we approached the first cat 3 climb from mile 7 to 10, Piney Mountain Ridge Rd Climb, I hoped I could continue on with the leaders but that was a dream.  So I cut my early losses and decided to fall back.  Several of us kinda spread out behind the leaders throughout the climb and these would all form the eventual chase group.  Our organization out on the roads with rolling hills wasn't the best but we worked together.  I felt like one of the stronger of the bunch so I was happy with this group.  But in hindsight, when I was pulling i was doing a very bad job of pacing myself.  I go too hard for too long.  Then drop back in the group until the legs come to life and go again.  It was stupid excitement and just poor pacing.

Chase group being led by the eventual single speed winner.  Yes I am drafting on a single speed (43x18 on these climbs!):

The chase group whittled down to about 4 of us as we approached the Lippencote descent.  I felt pretty burnt by this point but hoped the descending would rebuild the legs.  I made sure to lead my group into Lippencote so that i could pick my lines in the technical trails.  I climbed the initial part well and then started descending.  I felt comfortable and didn't push it.  Then I see Pat with a flat and a little later I see Adam with a flat as well.  Damn, this trail took both AFC top contenders... out of contention.  Adam's flat kinda fixed itself via Stans liquid and some C02 so we continued out of the descent together.  I sprinted to grab the wheel of a roadie-looking rider that had a small gap on us... the legs responded with a resounding "I DON'T THINK SO!"  Hmmm, I'm not bouncing back as quickly as I had hoped.
Adam, the SS leader, and the roadie went on ahead as a group.  I rode moderately until I could catch a draft on the rider behind me.  We drilled some downhill (legs were coming back) but again I think I'm drilling too hard when I pull.  Bad pacing again.  On the Milesburg Rd climb at mile 28 I decide that its time ride my own race.  No more chasing people.  I've put too much hurt'n on myself and it's still too early in the race.  I climbed strongly and consistently (should have just ridden this way from the start) and prepared for the mighty WigWam.

Approaching the WigWam Run-up

Up WigWam I caught Adam and others that I had lost out on the roads.  I never ran, I just hiked faster.  According to Strava I'm the fastest on this segment.  Yay!  I'm tickled to be tops at something (although I would prefer to be the best pedal-er).  It was max heart rate for everyone and boy is it pretty up there ;)
I was getting thirsty heading into aid station 2 and thought we would all be stopping.  Negative, none of my group stopped.  I was surprised but took my time.  The mistake I made here is when the volunteers asked me how many scoops of Heed I wanted "1 or 2".  I'll take "4".  "4!" they say.  "Ya".  So what the hell was I thinking?  Well I'm not familiar with Heed other than drinking it at Hilly Billy.  The stuff tastes horrible.  At Hilly Billy they were digging it out with a teaspoon.  Apparently these guys were using a scooper (i wasn't watching them, i was eating).  I thanked them, jumped on the bike and grabbed my waterbottle.  I take a swig, "UUUuuuuugh!".  This is the nastiest sweetness of all time.  But i don't have much water left in my Camelbak so it'll have to do and I try to convince myself that some how the super sugary grossness is going to help me.  Please race directors, use Cerasport.  Heed is so gross.
So this first half of iron cross has totally shot my legs.  Time to regroup.  I have a lot of descending to do (i think).  So I just ride a comfortable pace.  Then hit some trials that I never rode in my recon.  Its some pretty tough climbing.  The legs are not happy.  I'm constantly looking for ways to cut my losses.  But then Brian Patton shows up.  He and I have become friends, meeting in Potapsco before SugarHill 2012 and keeping in touch via Strava and Facebook.  He told me he was in the hunt for the series win for under 40, having ridden Hilly Billy and Three peaks.  I wanted to help him but doubted I could.  He recommended that I draft on him through these gravel road descents.  I'm happy to oblige.  This helped a ton.  I'll take it too far and say that I was riding on the neon wings of an angel (for a while), Lol.

Thompson Hollow Descent, or maybe the descent after Thompson....i don't know.

After some fun gravel descending we head out on the roads.  Again I think my pacing during pulls was really poor.  I was extra motivated to help Brian try to catch the guy that he was battling for the series.  But it just wasn't any good.  Its like I am trying to go faster via a pace-line instead of trying to go the same speed with less effort.  I'll definitely improve on this in my next pace-line.  Anyway, I gave it almost everything I had out on those roads.  I planned to eek-out the last drops of effort at Hogshead.  As soon as we hit the loooong Hogshead climb Brian went ahead.  I didn't mind too much.  I knew at this point I would finish, and finish pretty well.

Hogshead Road Climb

I got passed by maybe 5 riders on Hogshead.  But made it to the top without cramps or any other problem other than being really tired.  I descended well to aid station 4.  There I ate a peanut butter sandwich which is now a new favorite aid station treat.  Also apple slices (mmmmmmmm PA apples!).  I got some water and headed into the final trails of the race.  I wasn't pushing but riding ok.  There was no one around.  After several miles a guy in a Cycleworks orange kit caught me.  I went with him, excited that we had about 5 miles left, and that I had some one to race.  I let him lead since he was obviously stronger on the pedals at this point.  His technical log hopping skills were pretty bad though.  I gave him some room and used my skills to absorb his efforts.  On a tougher log jump he crashed and I went ahead.  He came back after a while and we hit the run-up, me with a slight gap.  We also closed in on another guy.  This was getting painful but exciting!  After the run-up was a grassy trail climb.  My climbing legs are totally shot and I'm barely staying on the bike but I pedal, pedal, pedal.  I hear Pat come up behind me when he says "AFC!".  I say "finally!" knowing that he must have taken a long time with his flat and partied a bunch at the aid stations to just be catching me now with 3 miles to go.

At the top of the climb we all take beer hand-ups.  Yummy!  The cycleworks rider passes me on the final road section and I just settle in on his draft.  I feel bad racing this way but I decide that I will pretend he is rider 20 and my goal is to be top 20, so I'm going to beat him.  We make the turn to the finish and I take the sprint.  Whew!  That was a fun hard race.  2 thumbs up to the Iron Cross folks.  Their course is really well marked and top notch.

Awesome strap!